Like A Giant Tree
by Queen of Pi
Summary: Short and precise insights into the relationships of HP charachters to others, to themselves, and to their lives. drabbles. R&R.
1. The Greatest Sin

**Author's Note: **This is a collection of true drabbles (all exactly 100 words). I am going to try and update twice weekly, most likely Mondays and Thursdays. As always, thanks to my supurb beta Maya Bea. Please hit the review button, it really does make my day. Review with praise and critisisms, it will help make me a better writer- and it will encourage me to stick to my update scedule.

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"How dare that boy attack Hogwarts?" Salazar Slytherin fumed. "Even when I left the school, I never, _never _thought to attack it. My life's goal was to educate young children. As my heir, Tom should have remembered that." In a rage, Slytherin pointed his wand and muttered a spell. 

The Slytherin family tree stretched out for centuries. Hundreds of names, each written in the same gold lettering graced its front. At the very bottom of the Slytherin family tree, a thin line ran down from between the names Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle. It ended in a small burnt hole.


	2. Socks

**Author's Note: **This drabble is based off of my conviction that Dumbledore never lied to Harry, as he appeared to about the Mirror of Erised. Thanks to my beta Maya Bea. Please review with any comments you have, or with a request.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. same goes for the prior drabble.

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Kendra Dumbledore carefully guided Ariana's fingers. Together they began to knit.

The steady clicking of the needles relaxed Kendra as she guided her daughter in this project. At long last, she had found something for Ariana to do that would have a positive outcome.

Knit one, pearl two.

Each day Ariana determinedly worked on her knitting. Occasionally her magic burst through, but it only affected the yarn she worked with, making it sparkle and change color.

Knit one, pearl two.

Christmas day arrived just as Ariana finished her project.

Ariana proudly handed Albus his Christmas present- a pair of socks.


	3. Mortal Fool

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, not in this drabble or any other that will be part of this collection.

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Love defines life, yet Lord Voldemort fears it more than death itself. I can see this fear clearly in his eyes whenever he observes the way I am with Lucius, or with Draco. I fear for my family's safety when they are gone, and Lord Voldemort cannot comprehend this. I love my family, and Lord Voldemort does not understand why. He will not suffer something he does not understand, so he seeks to destroy it. Love is not beaten at the whim of a madman, and Lord Voldemort hates this thing that defies him.

What a fool this mortal be.


	4. I'll Be in Gryffindor, Thank You

A/N: I am very sorry for the delay. I haven't been able to get onto a computer since Wed. night.

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_Another Weasley?_

I'm not Hufflepuff material, just so you know.

_Not Hufflepuff?_

Hufflepuffs wouldn't prank each other, they're too loyal.

_I see. You have quite a brain… Ravenclaw perhaps?_

No way! They might figure out how I do my pranks! That would ruin my future business.

_You are cunning; Slytherin would suite you._

The Slytherins would hex me rather than laugh. I think I'll pass.

_You certainly seem brave, you fearlessly seek to overrule me-_

Gryffindor sounds great! That way I'll be with Fred. I wanted that.

_Cunning, I see. But you are sure, so it had better be-_

"GRYFFINDOR!"


	5. My Dad

On the platform for the Hogwarts Express, I see the faces turn to look at my Dad. I hear the whisperers talk about him.

My first year, it bothered me that everyone talked about him. It almost made him public property. Then, before I got on the train, he gave me some advice for the upcoming school year. It was nothing important, just a fatherly warning. However, he didn't tell everyone on the platform how to fight dementors- or anything else for that matter. He just spoke to me.

He may be their hero too, but he is my dad.


	6. A Mother's Instinct

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating for a second time last week. I'll try to keep up with my update scedule better. Reviews would encourage me to do so. coughcough_hint_coughcough The last line is a quote from DH and is found on page 736 of the American version.

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I have no understanding for that connection that seems to tie a mother and her offspring together. When I was young, I would watch uncomprehending as Narcissa or Andromeda interacted with Mother.

That is how I am so capable of murder. The anguished cries of a mother whose child I tortured to death never haunt my dreams. The eyes of a woman whose progeny I've murdered never condemn me in the dark.

There was only one time when I had an appreciation for the love and strength in a mother's instinct to protect her child.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"


	7. By the Moonlight

**A/N**: I would love requests/prompts for new drabbles. Just put it in a review.

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During the full moon, I begin as man, not beast. My mind struggles against the animalistic thoughts, but it loses. My body fights the coming of fur and fangs, but it cannot resist no matter how much I scream in pain. The silver orb above casts many shadows, but none hides the horror that I am. The remains of the human within me yearns for the darkness of a new moon to hide my shame, but the full moon casts its terrible light and I am visible. 

I let out a howl of joy. Let all see and fear me.


	8. Rainbow IQ

Orange, purple, red, green, blue.

Every mother has great dreams for their children.

Plum, lavender, pink, scarlet, gold.

We all want our little babies to become brilliant, popular, and successful adults.

Mauve, crimson, turquoise, magenta, flaxen.

My daughter is so sweet, she'll have no problems making and keeping friends.

Khaki, maroon, indigo, coral, jade.

With her ambition, my child will be successful at what ever she does.

Ebony, sable, cobalt, coal, sage.

As for intelligence, there is her hair. If my Nymphadora can name every color it turns, she'll have the biggest vocabulary on earth. That's smart enough for me.


	9. More Solemn than Ever

In the years following Voldemort's final downfall, I thought I would never see another smile on your mother's face. Although we no longer served a cruel lord, we continued to face hardships. Yet through some miracle, your low laugh came as easily as it did in years past. It was you, Draco, my personal sun, that lit up those difficult years when we rebuilt our lives. It was you, and only you, that removed the frown from my features. Now that you have passed on, I try to smile again, but it strains my face.

I miss you my son.


	10. Summer Fear

**A/N:** I am starting to run low on ideas. Please drop me a reeview with a request/suggestion for a drabble. Even if you don't have a suggestion, please send me a review anyway. Come on, make my day.

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Autumn still seems far away, and most students haven't given a thought to the upcoming school year. Minerva McGonagall does not have that privilege. She has spent all summer preparing for the students' (noisy) return to Hogwarts. Lesson plans, prefects, and class lists need to be worked out.

Albus has promised to tell her who the new D.A. teacher will be, and she glances at the window periodically, alternatively hoping that he will and will not remember.

A single brown owl flies towards her with the very answer she dreads.

_Remus Lupin_

For the first time all summer, she smiles.


	11. The Perfect Insult

**A/N**: This is my first attempt at writing romance. Please review and tell me what you think!

Written at Jellicle-in-the-Box's request.

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Hermione's hair looks silly in a bun. It's all so neat and tight and… un-Hermione. Forgetting what normally happens when I tell her something like that, I mentioned it while Hermione was reading over one of the many large books for our project. In horror, I braced myself for the glare of death that never came. Instead, she let out one of her deep, rich laughs. With agonizing slowness she reached up and 

s

l

o

w

l

y

undid her hair. With a final shake, she released all of its wild glory. I stared. She kissed me.

I should insult her hairstyles more often.


	12. Winter Wonderland

People accuse me of being cold, but what is the advantage of warmth? It is when winter has faded and even the flowers have begun to recede in deference to summer green that my parent's master fights Potter. In the heat of spring, everything is in jeopardy, while in winter even the trees can rest, relieved of the burden to bear leaves and fruit.

Warmth is blood, spilling onto the ground, fresh from the veins of a dead person. Coldness is security, preserving my world so I can live without fear as long as its icy tendrils grip the world.


	13. Smoke Signals

**A/N: **My apologies for not updating last Thursday- blame my English teacher. I will try to put up an extra drabble this week to make up for it. As always, review either with comments or requests.

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I will always love you. 

That was all the parchment said. The words weren't even clearly written; tears smudged the words almost to the point of illegibility. She didn't really think the brief sentence did her feelings justice. Ever since he had died, no amount of words ever seemed adequate. If she were to write just a summary of everything she wanted to tell him, it would still take-up ten feet of parchment. Yet, in a peculiar way, these simple words said everything.

Cho put the note on the fire and watched the smoke carry its contents to the sky.


	14. Every Year Later

**A/N: **I apologize for my unannounced leave of absence. I will try to return to updating twice weekly. Thank you to all my reviewers ☺!

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George surveyed the room with a bemused expression on his face. Family reunions were always so amusing, and he had spiced this one up with a few products courtesy of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Rose made a superb canary- her cousins were laughing aloud and even her mother could barely keep from giggling. The canary creams were always a huge hit. They really needed to consider developing a whole range of transforming food. Instinctively, George turned to Fred to say as much. 

Even though no one was there, George thought he saw a pair of mischievous eyes gazing back at him.


	15. Perfection

**A/N**: This is a new style I'm experimenting with. Each section is 33 words and the final word makes 100. Please review to tell me what you think!

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Hermione had to be perfect. If she was anything less then outstanding, every horrible stereotype would be thrown in her face. Failure was not an option; she wouldn't be able to face herself.

Draco was perfect. Everything from his meticulously styled hair to his freshly polished shoes screamed that fact. The sole heir to the most influential wizarding family in Britain could not be anything less.

Gryffindors regarded anything mediocre as imperfect. Consequently, Fred did everything spectacularly- even failing. Of his OWLs, he was equally proud of his 'T' in Astronomy and his 'O' in Charms. Both were simply

Perfect.


	16. Love and In Love

"I love Harry, but I'm _in _love with Ron."

Ginny nodded absently while Hermione continued.

"I told Ron that, but he didn't get it. He thinks I'm going out with Harry. When I tried to explain what I meant, he just got really red and--"

"Hermione, breathe," Ginny said. "I know my brother is thick, but he'll calm down if everything is presented to him properly."

"And Harry?"

"Harry's oblivious. This will go over his head. Now, go explain things to my idiot brother by snogging him senseless."

"But—"

"No buts. Go."

Following Ginny's order, Hermione went to find Him.


	17. Guardian of the Gates

Most students have the decency to ignore the items under my guardianship. They are aware that most books are beyond their grasp.

Yet that one stupid girl insists on delving into mysteries she does not understand.

Granger is worse than the bespectacled desecrater who has a book filled with quill marks. When her eyes scan pages they devour paragraphs and rip them to shreds. She regularly holds astounding worlds within her hands, but all she sees is a mirror that reflects her own reality. She worms help out of ancient tomes but ignores their true value as miraculous gateways.

Heretic.


	18. The Reason for Living

**A/N:** The Shakespeare quote is from Romeo and Juliet. When Lily talks about acting she quotes Ted Danson.

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"Have not saints lips and holy palmers too?" recited a tall boy in a monotone. He was growing bored with reenacting Shakespearean scenes, and felt no need to hide that fact.

"Come on Sev! You can act better than that." Lily exclaimed.

"Why did I let you talk me into this? Acting is stupid."

"It is not!" she protested. "Acting isn't stupid. Acting is pretending that you're not pretending when you're actually pretending."

An older man, his face an impenetrable mask marked with shadows, stared down at the swirling mist that contained the most important lesson he had ever received.


	19. The Dark Lord

**A/N:** Thank you to MadeNew, writer of my 50th review! Thank you to everyone else who has reviewed as well. Please continue to review if you have in the past, and begin reviewing if you have not.☺

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The heavy darkness was oppressive, bearing down on him from all sides. It filled his lungs and smothered his breath. No matter what way he turned his eyes they were useless against the repressive sheet of black that surrounded him.

Such weakness was unacceptable. He was special; he was not frail like the other boys asleep next to him. Since he knew no other way to conquer his fright, five-year-old Tom set about to become one with the darkness. Once he was a creature of the dark, once he was its lord and master, he would have nothing to fear.


	20. Career Night

Tiptoeing downstairs to get a midnight snack, a redheaded boy was surprised to hear his parent's voices.

"Bill is in Egypt and now Charlie wants to go to Romania…Arthur, what's happened to our family?"

"Nothing happened, Molly."

"Not nothing! Charlie wants to follow in Bill's footsteps and Bill didn't even want to stay in Britain, let alone take a decent job at the ministry…."

The tears that followed his mother's words pierced the fourth year's heart. No longer hungry, he crept back to his room.

_I_, Percy vowed, _will not make my career a cause for Mum's tears_.


	21. Danger of a Snowy Afternoon

Hermione was innocently strolling along, her eyes devouring a thick book, when she was smacked upside the head with a large snowball. Glancing sideways, she found herself looking at a pair of bespectacled green eyes that looked _far_ too innocent. 

In just a few seconds, she had placed the book well out of harm's way. Needless to say, a particular boy went prematurely white shortly thereafter.

Further reprisals began quickly. Ron joined in, amiably ganging up for a short period with whoever asked. He changed sides often.

The late afternoon saw the sun shining on three laughing and snowy adolescents.


	22. Mirror, Mirror

**A/N**: My apologies for my unannounced leave. My muse was more interested in long lost sons playing ukuleles than in the mystical world of magic.

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Hermione stood transfixed by the mirror's reflection. No longer was she cursed with bushy brown tresses; her hair was now a sheet of ebony silk. 

No, not her hair. Not the hair of Hermione Granger. Bellatrix looked back at her.

It was clear in the way the eyes insisted on looking down at her surroundings. The way the lips seemed intent on sneering.

The hands that moved as she moved had tortured a thousand souls. With the wand she now held.

A small shudder raked Hermione. She felt unclean, desecrated. Her sojourn in Bellatrix's body couldn't be over soon enough.


	23. Golden Trio

"Mate, are you okay with this?"

"With what?"

"You know... Me, Hermione."

"If I wasn't you'd know. I can be very vocal."

"I know, Harry. Believe me, I know. But our being together makes you a third wheel."

"So we're a tricycle."

"A what?"

"A muggle toy with three wheels."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"It means it doesn't matter if I'm a third wheel."

"But—"

"Stop. I'm glad you and Hermione are together. We won't drift apart because of this. You're both in this friendship for life, no matter how much the two of you snog."


	24. T Stands for Troll

**A/N **The real world is taking up more and more of my time, which is why it took so long for me to post this. I will continue posting as fast as I can write, but that may be a slower pace than before.

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Minerva McGonagall glared down at the quaking girl. She had been so promising; even in her first term she had shown true magical potential. It had been so easy to imagine her pushing the bounds of magic beyond what they had been before. And now this. Trying to take down a troll. Minerva had seen far too many students squander their skill away in similar foolish attempts at bravery. Their considerable skills had been meaningless when they faced the might of acromantulas or chimaeras alone. It seemed Hermione would just be another student without the common sense to stay alive.


	25. Entrée

Hagrid distresses my offspring because he they do not understand why he is not to be eaten like any other entrée. He is a large creature, full of rich, nourishing meat that would sit well in their stomachs. But he is not food for I will not let them consume him when he enters our midst.

My numerous offspring fail to grasp why I do not classify him as prey. Were it in my nature to do so, I would pity their lack of perception. If they can not understand, who will bring them grubs when they begin to die?


	26. The Woodpecker Sighs

Hermione ran her finger over the worn volumes of fantasy that she loved. She had spent many joyful nights with her mother or father sitting by her bedside and reading tall tales of princesses and magic, of witches and dreams. Her juvenile yet orderly mind had delighted that each one opened with the same Once upon a time. Her young wonder had caressed each fairy and fantastical event. Now she was an adult, aged by battling the very forces these books described. Weathered and jaded as she was, Hermione cried tears of joy when each book ended Happily ever after.


End file.
